Magnifying glass for telephones



Sept. 16 192%.

1,508,434! J. J. AYRES MAGNIF'YING GLASS FOR TELEPHONES Fixed Jam. a,v 192s ,4 TTORNEYS Patented fiept. l6, 192d.

cairn stares.

JOSEPH J. AYRES, 01F KEO 'KUK, IOWA.

MAGNIEYING GLASS FOR TELEPHONES.

Application filed tanuary 8, 1923. Serial 1W0. 611,411.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Josnrn J. AYRES, a

citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of Keokuk, in the county of Lee and State 5 of Iowa, have invented a new and useful lm-' provement in Magnifying Glasses for Telc-' phones, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in .0 magnifying glass for telephones, and it consists in the combinations, constructions, and

arrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide a device of the character described that may .5 be quickly and easily attached to the ordinary type of desk, wall or extension telephones without the use of tools of any sort.

5 A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the character described by means of which the person using the telephone may more easily read the context of the telephone directory or the like by merely moving the directory in back of themagnifying glass,- which glass is supported at all times in a definite position relative to the telephone transmitter.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the character described in which the magnifying glass may be 30 swung inwardly toward the transmitting microphone when not in use.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the character described which may be moved in an annular path :5 concentric with the transmitting microphone to any point desired.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specificatiomand the novel features of the invention will be per LG ticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming part of this application, in which,

Figure 1 is a view of a front elevation L5 of an embodiment of my invention applied to the ordinary type of desk telephone instrument,

Figure 2 is a front plan view of the mesh anism removed from the telephone, 7 30 Figure 3 is a sectional view along the line 3-3 of Figure 2, and

Figure fl is a view of the mechanism illustrated in Figure 3 with the magnifying glass swung toward the transmitter. $5 In carrying out my invention, ll make heavy-wire loop 7, the opposite ends of use of the ordinary type of desk telephone instrument 1 having a pillar 2 by means ct which the instrument is heldin the hand of the user, and which also provides the necessary SI ipQOIl", for the transmitter mechanism 3. his mechanism is housed in a circular housing 4 which issupported directly upon the pillar 2. The instrument is also provided with a base 5 by means of which it may rest upon a suitable supporting surface 6.

My improved magnifying glass attachment for telephones consists in a relatively which are bent at 8 and extend outwardly from the center of the loop 7,for a distanceof approximately 5 inches, although this particular distance is merely optional and may be changed to suit the particular conditlons to which the instrument is subjected. A metal sleeve 9 is slidably supported upon the outwardly extending portions 10 and 11 of the loop 7' so that movement of the sleeve 9 toward the loop 7 will cause the loop to contract. This contraction of the loop 7 by means of the sleeve 9 provides a simple and efiicient means for clamping the loop on the outer wall 12 of the transmitter casing 4 as shown in Figure 1. The portions 10 and 11 may therefore be supported in radial alignment with the casing a at an an le of any degree from the horizontal.

hinge sleeve 13 is fixed to the outer ends 14 of the outwardly extending portions 10 and 11 by means of soldering or the like. This sleeve is disposed transverse to the portions 10 and 11. The sleeve 13 is provided with a radially extending lug 15 integral therewith, and is formed by bending a portion of the material used in forming the sleeve laterally after the sleeve has been formed. This lug 15 is disposedin a plane parallel with the plane of the 5 lens supporting frame 16 having hinge inc sleeves thereon is hingedly supported upon the sleeve 13 by means of the pin 18 that. is passed through the aligned hinge sleeves 13 and 17 and subsequently fixed from removal therefrom in any suitable manner such as riveting the ends of the pin as shown. A bi-convex lens 19 is supported in theframe 16: This lens is commonly known as a magnifyin glass and possesses the property of magni ing objects that are WP caneoaaee viewed therethrough. ll prefer to employ approximately a four-power lens so that the type used in the ordinary telephone directory may be magnified sufficiently to per-.

mit one to easily distinguish the names and numbers of the subscribers.

-From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood. When it is not desired to use my magnifying glass attachment the frame 16 is hinged back against the outwardly extending portions 10 and 1.1 of the loop 7 on its hinge support as heretofore described. It will therefore be apparent that the frame carrying lens 19 will not be obtrusive nor in any way a nuisance .to the person using the phone. Let us assume that a person using the phone desires to find a certain subscriber in the telephone directory and that the names and numbers in the directory are printed in relatively small type as is the case in the ordinary typejof directory. If the person has any difficulty at all in reading the directory, which may be due to lighting conditions within the telephone booth .or ollice', or by a fault of the eyes of that person, the frame 16 may be hingedly moved to the position shown in Figure 1 and the directory held therebehind. The person will then experience no'difiiculty in reading the names and numbers of the various subscribers without moving away from the telephone to adequate light or without applying eye glasses as in the case of a person with poor eyesight.

If the position of the lens 19 as .shown in Figure 1 is not desirable, the. sleeve 9 may be manually moved toward the ends 14: of the members 10 and 11 and the frame 16, together with the loop 7, may be rotated upon the casing 4. until the lens is in a desirable position for use. The sleeve 9 is then moved toward the transmitter easing 4 and the device is securely fined to the telephone instrument.

ll claim:

1. A magnifying glass for attachment to telephone instruments, and means for mov ably supporting said glass upon said instrument at one side of the transmitter thereof, said means comprising a wire loop arranged for engagement with the housing of said transmitter and formed with ou wardly extending radial end portions, and a frame for receiving said magnifying glass hingedly supported upon the outer ends of said radial portions of said loop.

2. A magnifying glass for attachment to telephone instruments having a transmitter mechanism, comprising awire loop arranged for engagement with the housing of said transmitter, said loop being formed with radial outwardly extending end portions, means for securing said loop against movement on said housing, a sleeve transversely disposed on the outer end of said radially extending end portions of said loop, a frame hingedly mounted on said sleeve, and a. magnifying glass supported in said frame.

3. A magnifying glass for attachment to telephone instruments having a transmitter mechanism, comprising a wire loop arranged for engagement with the housing of said transmitter, said loop being formed with radial outwardly extending end portions, means for securing said loop against movement on said housing, a sleeve transversely disposed on the outer end of said radially extending end portions of said loop, a frame hingedly mounted in said sleeve,

means carried by said sleeve for limiting the hinged movement of said frame, and a magnifying glass supported in said frame. JQSJEPH J. AYRES. 

